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𝟐𝟑 || 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐎𝐋𝐅 ||

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Takemichi doesn't get the hype about...dogs.

    Sure, they're cute from a distance, know how to follow orders, and help disabled people cross the street, but that's about it.

    The dogs that used to roam the streets of Takemichi's old neighborhoods were vicious beasts. They'd snarl and show off their long fangs to anyone that looks at them. Buckets of drool would spill out of their mouths, leaving puddles of saliva on the ragged sidewalks. The terrifying sounds they make when they spot someone they don't like is enough to make Takemichi crawl into a tiny space and hide away till he's old and gray.

    Cats, on the other hand, aren't as threatening.

    They're small, easier to deal with, and actually like Takemichi. The small boy could spend all day grooming their soft pelts even if the animal decides to suddenly be playful and swat at Takemichi with their sharp claws. At Least he doesn't have to worry about being mauled by cats, right?

    However, just because Takemichi moved out of that old neighborhood with flea infested dogs doesn't mean he was completely safe from the four legged hounds.

    Takemichi's mama finally allowed him to run errands for her; she'd give him a wad of cash, give him a list of things to pick up from the corner store, and —if he had change left over—he was free to keep the coins for the arcade as a reward! Takemichi couldn't have been more excited for his new task—in fact, he got all dressed up for the special occasion.

    The very first day he was sent out to complete his mission, he wore the baby blue dress his mother passed down to him with a pair of white slippers.

    He remembers the smile that adorned his lips, the excitement that coursed through his veins with each step he took towards the corner store and then—

    ...and then they showed up.

    Three kids and a dog.

    There were two boys and one girl.

    One of the boys was a bit on the heavy side and appeared to be shorter than his male companion. The other boy was significantly taller than both the boy and girl and wore the most menacing sneer he's ever seen. The girl, on the other hand, looked so out of place. She held the shorter boy's hand and swung their arms lazily like a cute couple.

    And, of course, there was the dog.

    The moment Takemichi's eyes landed on the dog's tall stature, long hair, narrow snout, and beady eyes he started to sweat buckets.

    His hands got all clammy, legs began to shake, lips started to tremble and—and—

    He spun around and ran in the opposite direction like a coward.

   He eventually finished his mission, but he waited two hours to make sure the three kids and their pet demon were long gone before he even thought about stepping foot outside.

    He couldn't help the shame that filled his stomach as he thought back to how he reacted to the furry beast. He should've stood his ground, walked past them with the same confidence Keisuke has, but he didn't. Instead he got scared like a little baby and ran away.

    He tried not to think too much about the incident. In the meantime, his mother gave him more errands to run that didn't just consist of making grocery trips.

    However, every now and then, when Takemichi is on his way to the corner store pick something up for his mom, he'll see the three kids and that—that demon across the street or on the sidewalk ahead of him. Everytime he catches sight of that beast's long hair he'd spin around and head back home.

    Things need to change. He can't keep being scared of these four legged monsters like a toddler!!! He's gonna need help from someone who's even scarier than a dog, a beast, a mongrel, a monster!

    ...but who could he turn to for help?

   Just when all hope seems to have been lost, a kid popped into his mind.

    Perfect!

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Takemichi slowly starts to regret his decision the longer he listens to the boy cackle at his supposedly ridiculous request.

    "H-Hold on Mitchy—" Mikey exclaims while nearly toppling over from the force of his own laughter. "You're scared of dogs?! YOU?!" He questions, making the curly haired boy flush in embarrassment.

    "Y-Yeah! I am—can you stop laughing now?"

    Rather than listening to the boy's request, Mikey's laughter gets louder and louder till it's the only thing that could be heard in the Sano residence.

   "No way! I always thought you were one of those—those Disney princesses!!! Y'know—the ones who are friends with all the animals!!!"

    EH?!

    Takemichi gawks at Mikey, his entire being offended by the words spilling out of the blonde's mouth.

    How dare he?! Takemichi's not a princess OR a girl!!! The audacity!!!

    Takemichi puffs his cheeks out in embarrassment and turns his back on Mikey, not wanting his cackling friend to see his stark red face. "IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA HELP ME THEN ILL GO TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!" He shouts frustratedly knowing dang well there was no one else he can turn to at the moment.

    Keisuke's grounded for disrespecting his mom, Takeomi's been keeping Haru at the house because of his injuries, Takemichi hasn't seen Senju since the incident, Hakkai and Yuzuha have been acting distant lately, Mitsuya is probably busy watching his younger siblings, and Takemichi really doesn't wanna bother his new friend Chifuyu with such a stupid problem.

    ...Well this is it. Looks like Takemichi is gonna have to find the solution on his own.

    Just as Takemichi starts making his way towards the exit of the Sano residence, a strong hand wraps around Takemichi's wrist, stopping him from walking out the door. Whipping his head around, Takemichi is met with the amused gaze of none other than Mikey himself.

    Takemichi tries not to wince when the grip around his wrist tightens ten-folds.

    "Who said I wasn't gonna help you?" Mikey asks with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Takemichi can't help but gulp nervously under his dark gaze.

    "S-So you'll help me?" Takemichi asks, double checking to make sure his ears aren't deceiving him.

    Mikey completely throws Takemichi off by slinging an arm around the boy's shoulders and pulling him in close, till their sides are flush against each other.

    The action causes something to erupt inside his chest.

    "Well yeah! Why wouldn't I?" Mikey exclaims with a soft smile adorning his lips. His eyes, that are normally so dark and hard to read, finally shine with something that Takemichi is unable to recognize. His features appear softer, not as emotionless and uptight as Mikey continues to stare at Takemichi like he holds the whole world in his hands.

    Before he can truly recall what he's doing, Takemichi is smiling back.

    "Thank you so much, Mikey! I swear you won't regret this!"

    Mikey's smile softens at Takemichi's words.

    "I know."

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It doesn't take long for Mikey to get really invested in building up Takemichi's courage.

    Takemichi's not sure how he did it, but the blonde somehow managed to get Emma and Shinichiro involved in the whole plan as well.

    On the living room couch—With Emma clinging to his ride side and Shinichiro on his left—Mikey stands before the group with a long pointer that had a hand attached to the end. He starts off by pointing the stick at Takemichi, a smirk lacing his lips.

    "Welcome students to the first day of class!" Mikey exclaims loudly for everyone to hear. "Our first lesson of the day is courage!!!"

    Takemichi immediately hears Emma blow out a puff of air, most likely in exasperation. "This is stupid, Mikey! Takemichi is already the most couragemost person around!!!" Emma protests with her cheek rubbing up against Takemichi's arm.

    Before Takemichi can push the girl away, Shinichiro clears his throat and glances at the two kids out of the corner of his eye.

    Maybe he'll save him! He has to see how ridiculous Emma is acting right now! Takemichi's not her boyfriend, he'll never be her boyfriend, and Mikey would kill him if he ever was her boyfriend!!!

    Shinichiro heaves out a sigh and starts rummaging around in his pocket for who knows what.

    "It's courageous, not couragemost, Emma. If you're having a hard time saying the word courageous, then maybe this class is for you."

    Takemichi stares wide-eyed at the traitor sitting next to him on the couch.

    What a monster! A demon! He swears, all Sano's are the same!

    Emma just huffs out frustratedly while tightening her grip around Takemichi's arm. "Whatever! I just wanna be around my boyfrienddd~"

    "And I just wanna get over my fear of dogs!" Takemichi shouts, trying desperately to yank his arm out of Emma's grasp. Of course, like every other Sano, her grip was tight and unmovable.

    "And I just wanna start this lesson, but you guys keep talking!!!" Mikey exclaims angrily with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "We're here to help my Takemitchy get over his fear of dogs and puppies! If you're not gonna take this seriously then leave."

    Takemichi can't help but tilt his head at Mikey's words, a million questions swimming inside his head. What does he mean by his 'Takemitchy'? And Takemichi isn't scared of puppies—where'd he get that from? And why was Mikey taking this job so seriously?

    "You got it boss!" Shinichiro salutes, breaking Takemichi out of his thoughts. His dark eyes watch Mikey from afar, amusement shimmering in his obsidian colored irises. "So what's the first step teach'?" He asks, his smirk practically lighting up the whole room.

    Mikey, who's basically a miniature Shinichiro, mirrors his smirk and pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. With his stick, he points to the words written in all caps on the piece of paper.

    "first step: Learn to stand up to your fears!!!" Mikey exclaims, repeating the words that are written on the piece of paper.

    ...and Takemichi already wants a new teacher—

   Before Takemichi can voice his thoughts, Mikey continues on with his explanation. "Everyone is scared of something—except me—but there will be times where we're gonna have to fight past our fears to complete a goal!" Mikey explains while placing the paper down on the coffee table. "Let's take Emma for example!" The blonde then points his stick at Emma who stares at him with a baffled look.

    "Me?!" She sneers, offense heavily laced in her voice. "I'm not scared of anything! I'm a Sano!" She shouts, her yellow eyes narrowed into slits.

    Just because you're a Sano doesn't mean you can't be scared of anything...

    "Yeah—but you're half Sano!"

    Emma's mouth immediately drops from the pure nonsense that leaves Mikey's lips.

    "EXCUSE ME?!"

    "Ok, ok kids!" Shinichiro says calmly, trying to bring his younger siblings' attention back to him. "We're here to help Takemichi, not argue. Got it?" Takemichi's eyes nearly fly out of their sockets when he sees the dejected look In Emma and Mikey's eyes. The two kids lower their heads in shame and nod.

    "Got it..." Emma mumbles out, her face tinged with a red flush.

    Rather than answering Shinichiro, Mikey just carries on with his lesson.

    "Anyways, like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted—"

    Takemichi catches Emma rolling her eyes at Mikey's little jab, but surprisingly decides to stay quiet.

    "—Emma is afraid of Cockroaches!!!" Takemichi can feel the girl shiver from where she sits pressed up against the boy's side. Huh. "She's so scared of cockroaches that she'll run out of the house if she even spots one crawling around the floors," he explains, completely blind to the terror he was enforcing on the small girl.

    "Can we talk about something else? Like Mitchy's fears?!" Emma explodes, trembling and shaking in fear at the mere mention of cockroaches. Takemichi finds himself sympathizing with his female companion—he completely understands what she's going through hence the whole 'being scared of dogs' thing

    Instead of showing his little sister mercy, Mikey smirks and spins around. "Don't you wanna help Mitchy overcome his fears, Emma?"

   "Well—well yeah, but—"

    "Good! Then hold this for me!"

    Mikey then spins around with a jar in his hand. The jar itself wouldn't have bothered Takemichi as much if there was nothing in it. However, that isn't the case.

    In the glass jar, sitting in Mikey's hands, is a huge cockroach. 

    "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

    Emma immediately unlatches herself from Takemichi and dashes off, screaming at the top of her lungs.

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The group of boys eventually gave up on trying to get Emma back into the house.

    "I said I was sorry!!!" Mikey shouted despite not sounding apologetic in the least.

    "I'm not gonna hangout with some bug loving piece of trash!!!" Emma screamed right back as she began walking away from the Sano residence. "I'm gonna hangout with someone who doesn't have cockroaches in jars!!!"

    Shinichiro just sighed heavily. "...tell the Akashi's I said hi..."

    Emma didn't respond to her older brother and instead ran off in the direction of the Akashi Household.

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Now it was just Takemichi, Mikey, and Shinichiro.

    "Well that didn't go as planned..." Mikey mumbles with a furrow in his brow, causing Takemichi to crumble to the floor in defeat.

    "This is useless!" Takemichi cries out with his head in his hands. "I'm never gonna be able to get over my fear of dogs!!!"

    "Well of course you won't—not with that attitude."

    "H-Huh?"

    Takemichi lifts his head and is suddenly greeted by Shinichiro. The older Sano is standing over the miserable boy with his hands on his hips as a cigarette is held loosely between his lips. Takemichi caves in on himself at the look of disappointment that crosses the adult's face.

    Of course he'd be disappointed in Takemichi! Why wouldn't he be? Almost everyone can walk past a dog and not flinch or run away in fright! Jeez, Takemichi should've just dealt with his fear alone—maybe that way he wouldn't be humiliated by his own patheticness. Shinichiro must have more important things to do than watch Takemichi cry like a little baby!

    Takemichi opens his mouth, an apology already on the tip of his tongue, when Shinichiro bends over and picks the boy up by the armpits, lifting him up in the air.

    "H-Hey! Let me go!!!" Takemichi shouts as he kicks his feet wildly in an attempt to make the lean adult release him. This, however, just earns him a sly smirk.

    "What happened to the fearless boy who's ready to throw himself into the fire for his friends?" Shinichiro asks. "Is he still in there? Helloooo~?" The black haired man begins to rattle Takemichi like a miraca.

    "STOP THAT!!!" Takemichi shouts as his head moves back and forth with the force of Shinichiro's movements. He closes his eyes and tries to smack the hands that keep him high up in the air, but nothing works.

    "I asked you a question Mitchy!!!"

    "I DON'T CARE!!! LET ME GO!!!"

    "Where'd the amazing Takemichi Hanagaki go?! The one who wants to protect his mama from any type of danger?!"

    M-Mama?

    His heart stops.

    His breathing stops.

    His arms and legs stop.

    Why'd he mention his mother? Is she ok? Is she safe? Did someone get her? Harm her? Abuse her?

    And, like an eruption, Takemichi explodes.

    He somehow manages to launch himself out of Shinichiro's grasp and straight towards the dark eyed man himself.

    Takemichi tackles the man to the floor—completely ignoring the shouting in the background—and grabs hold of Shin's shoulders. The man's dark eyes are wide with shock, and his mouth his hanging open like a fish out of water but Takemichi doesn't care.

    Digging his nails into Shinichiro's shoulders, the small boy leans over the man with desperation coursing through his veins.

    "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TO HER?! IS SHE OK?! DOES SHE NEED ME?! I SWEAR SHINICHIRO, YOU BETTER ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!!!" Takemichi screams, making his throat ache. With tears prickling the corner of his eyes, he lets go of Shinichiro's shoulders and instead grabs the front of the man's shirt. "ANSWER ME SHIN!!! ANSWER ME!!!"

    Instead of giving into Takemichi's request, the man throws his head back and laughs. Takemichi's hand tightens around the fistful of his white shirt.

    How dare he laugh at a time like this?! What was so funny about his mother being in danger?! He promised to protect her, promised to keep her safe, but he failed and he needs to make it right!

    "There he is!" Shinichiro exclaims with a right smile. "There's the fearless Takemichi we know and love!!!"

    Takemichi sneers and continues to glare down at the man below him. "What are you talking about?! Where's my mom?!" Each question that leaves Takemichi's lips just causes Shinichiro to laugh louder like a lunatic.

    "She's fine, Takemichi! I was just proving a point!"

    What.

    Takemichi turns around to face Mikey, who's been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time, and fixes the boy with a confused expression. Releasing Shin, Takemichi points his finger at the man and asks, "what's wrong with him?"

    The blonde boy just shrugs his shoulders in response to his question. "I dunno. You get used to it though," he says after a few moments, his eyes never leaving Takemichi or Shinichiro.

    Just as Takemichi is about to whirl around and shout more insults in Shinichiro's face, the man himself hoists Takemichi off his chest, gently places him on the ground, and smiles down at the boy.

    ...Takemichi is slowly starting to understand why his mom thinks Shinichiro is a government experiment...

    Takemichi snaps out of thoughts the second Shinichiro sets his hands on Takemichi's shoulders. "Listen to me kid, it takes a lot of guts and bravery to do what you just did. You realize that, right?"

    ...and Takemichi